


Stormy Nights & Shared Woes

by Salachan9



Series: Ripples and Consequences [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Friendship between Fugaku and Orochimaru, Gen, M/M, the rest of the characters are only mentioned - Freeform, why am I doing this to myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-10-16 20:58:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10579362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salachan9/pseuds/Salachan9
Summary: Orochimaru and Fugaku meet up and vent.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. I have three works in progress I should be concentrating on. But try telling my brain that. Here's a oneshot no one asked for, but are getting nonetheless. Also, it is written in the style of a play, so Yay?
> 
> have fun.

**Character List**

OROCHIMARU, _father of many, Head of the R &D and Fugaku’s friend._

UCHIHA FUGAKU, _father of two, the Uchiha Clan Head and Orochimaru’s friend._

SORA, _the Bartender of “Drunken Swan”._

* * *

 **Time** : _6 years after the birth of Naruto. It is a dark and stormy night, with harsh winds threatening to snap the trees and the people in its path._

 **Scene** : _A well-furnished, but closed for the night, room in the tavern called the “Drunken Swan”. All the chairs have been put up on the tables, except for the two chairs in the corner of the room. The chairs face each other, but also give the sitters a view of the entire room. On the other side of the room, near the entrance, is a bar. The only occupant of this room is the Bartender, Sora, who is cleaning the glasses, while looking at the door from time to time, as though expecting company. The wind howls outside._

_The door is suddenly thrown open, and Sora looks up to see a dark figure on the entrance. The person steps inside the tavern, shaking and closing their umbrella as they do. In the light, Orochimaru’s androgynous features become clear. Sora recognizes his client, and greets him with a nod. Orochimaru returns the gesture, even as he looks around the room. Upon seeing the chairs kept ready for him, he goes towards them._

_As he sits, Sora arrives with a few bottles of sake, and two glasses. He leaves them on the table._

 

Orochimaru: Thank you, Sora. We may require more sake as the night goes on… it has been   a long month.

Sora: Of course, Orochimaru-san. I received a new shipment yesterday, so I have more than enough drinks to last tonight.

Orochimaru _[sighs in relief]_ : Well. That is good to know. Thank you.

_[Sora nods and goes back to cleaning glasses. There is silence for a while, as Orochimaru waits and Sora cleans. The wind continues to howl outside. The entrance door opens softly; a tired and slightly wet man enters. He keeps his umbrella next to Orochimaru’s, looks around and makes his way towards the waiting man.]_

Orochimaru _[smiling slightly]_ : Long day?

Fugaku _[Huffs]:_ More like a _long_ month. Actually, make that a long year. So much paperwork. If you ever end up developing a Time-Travel Jutsu and need someone to test it, do let me know. I really need to tell my younger self that becoming the Clan Head is not all that it is hyped up to be, and that Natsume-san is a big fat liar.

_[Orochimaru opens one of the bottles and pours a little drink into each of theirs glasses; they drink.]_

Fugaku: Anyway. How are you? I heard there was some kind of explosion in the R&D. Was anyone hurt?

Orochimaru: _[grimaces]_ No one got hurt because of the explosion. Though Kushina may have scared a few of the interns… Not that I blame her. The explosion could have easily been avoided if the damn intern had just read the bloody instructions. The only saving grace was Intern Pink, who had made copies of the research and saved them in a different room, otherwise we would have lost all the data, and you would be seeing me behind bars for _murdering_ all those idiots at R &D.

Fugaku: _[smiles]_ Intern Pink? Still don’t remember the names of your interns, huh? It has been almost a year since they joined, shouldn’t you know them?

Oro: I’ll only learn their names if they survive the whole internship, otherwise I have better things to remember. Besides, I think the interns are using it as a yardstick to measure their progress, and who am I to deny them their fun? _[smirks]_

Fugaku: _[rolls eyes] Their_ fun. Sure, let’s go with that.

_[They continue to pour sake into their glasses and drink. The amount of sake in the bottles around them steadily decreases. Sora keeps an eye on the bottles, but otherwise lets them be.]_

Orochimaru: So, what’s with the paperwork? Considering the village has been silent on the crime front, I would have thought you wouldn’t have so much paperwork. What happened?

Fugaku: _[lays head on table and groans]_ One reason- Takumi. I swear if I see one more request for Uchiha Takumi to come help a civilian _find_ something, I am going to go and _burn_ the requestor’s house.

Orochimaru: _[coughs]_ Takumi? Aren’t they the one who was unofficially voted the “Most Beautiful Person in Konoha”? And before you say anything, I only know this because I had to help Sakumo stop Kakashi from trying to hunt Takumi down, when Obito offhandedly mentioned ‘how cute cousin Takumi is’… I swear, sometimes Obito says such things on purpose.

Fugaku: _Sometimes?_ Anyway, that’s the one. If they weren’t so _nice_ , I would have either thrown Takumi to the wolves or simply sent them off to Rice Country, just to get away from the requests. So many requests.

Orochimaru: Oh? Like you were threatening to send Obito to Iwa permanently? Or like the time you wanted to disown Shisui and claim that he was a Senju? Or the time…

Fugaku: _[raises hands]_ Yes, yes. We all know I never go through my threats, but let me have my delusions, would you?

_[Orochimaru starts laughing, Fugaku pouts, before smirking]_

Fugaku: At least I wasn’t the one who let a five year old _stalk_ me for months, and then let said child and a snake turn my life upside down. Tell me, how many children do you have again? Was it ten, or eleven?

_[Orochimaru stops laughing. He looks resigned. Fugaku looks victorious. They drink.]_

Orochimaru: Oh, shut up. It was almost 15 years ago. When are you going to let it go!?

Fugaku: Never!

Orochimaru: _[sighs]_ I expected as much.

_[Fugaku pours more sake for both, and they contemplate the last fifteen years and drink. Sora eyes the number of bottles on the table, and prepares a few more bottles to bring over. The sound of the rain falling fills the silence.]_

Fugaku: Anyway, I heard about what happened with Mitsuki. How is he now?

Orochimaru: _[freezes, then sighs]_ Better. A lot better than how he was when he came back. Honestly though, he got the ears, he got the smile, he even took after Sakumo in body type, couldn’t he have taken after me at least in self-preservation? Is it too much to ask? But no, Mitsu had to be like his mutt of a father, what with his tendency towards self-sacrifice. At least the other children pretend to have _some_ preservation instincts, while Mitsu just… _[sighs]_ I’m just glad Obito was there to counter Mitsu’s actions.

Fugaku: _[smiles sadly]_ I understand. The number of times I’ve had to stop Shisui from _doing_ something that ‘looks so cool, Uncle’… It was one of the reasons I asked Asuma-kun if he could put Shisui under Obito’s command. For all the heart attacks and grief Obito caused me when he was growing up, I can admit that most of the time he didn’t go looking for trouble. Trouble always seemed to find him, and he always survived it. That’s how I knew he’d be the best at keeping Shisui from accidentally killing himself.

Orochimaru: Oh? Was that the only reason? Because I must admit to another, less altruistic reason for requesting Obito as Mitsu’s teacher…

Fugaku: _[huffs a laugh]_ Let me guess. You wanted revenge for all the pain he put you through? I have to say, that thought did cross my mind when I made my request… The number of times I had to control my laughter as Obito complained about ‘snot-nosed brats who just wouldn’t _listen’_ … Ahh, it makes me feel so vindicated.

Orochimaru: Me too. Though I admit it does make me proud that he became a strong Jonin, capable of handling our boys so well. I swear they must have been dropped on their heads as babies (I blame Sakumo). At least the girl in his team must give him some relief. What with being a Hyuuga.

Fugaku: _[chocks on his drink]_ Relief?? Hah! That’s what she wants you to think!

Orochimaru: _[leans forward]_ Oh? Do tell.

Fugaku: _[coughing slightly]_ Obito came over a couple weeks ago, wanting to talk to Mikoto. I was home, and Obito was distracted, so I could hear their talk. Obito wanted to know, and I quote, “how to disabuse a girl from the idea that stripping in the middle of a fight to distract the enemy and allow your teammates to kill said enemy was the ninja way of fighting”. Needless to say, it took a while for Mikoto to help him, since she was too busy laughing up a storm.

Orochimaru: _[looks shocked, then slowly smiles]_ Ah. Is it wrong of me to say that I am quiet enjoying the trouble young Obito is going through? Because I definitely do.

Fugaku: Hah! If you’re wrong, then so am I… I can’t wait for his kids to reach puberty. I should stock up on film rolls.

Orochimaru: I’ll help you. I should still have the extra cameras I bought when Sakumo was going through his ‘I must immortalize every moment of our kids’ phase.

Fugaku: Oh, I had forgotten about that. How on earth did you get him stop?

Orochimaru: By reminding of the fact that we were considered the parental figures of around ten children and the Uncles of even more children, and did he really think he had enough film rolls to document _every_ moment of _all_ of our children. He still takes photos, of course, but mostly of important events.

Fugaku: Oh, yes. He was there for Itachi’s Academy Graduation… why was he orange though? I have been meaning to ask, but couldn’t find the time…

Orochimaru: That would be the fault of your son, and Naruto. Hinata too, now that I think about it. _[Fugaku raises his eyebrow, asking for elaboration]_ Yes… the three brats didn’t like the fact that Sakumo was scolding their Kashi-nii, and decided to take revenge. I think Itachi and Mitsu may have helped them, but I don’t have any proof.

Fugaku: Really. Well. Why are all our brats troublemakers?

Orochimaru: Blame Obito. That’s what I do. It’s all Obito’s fault.

Fugaku: Now that, I’ll drink too.

_[They drink. The bottles are empty. Sora appears, removes the empty bottles, with a few full ones. He leaves. The men lose themselves in memories. The windows rattle due to the wind.]_

Orochimaru: Do you recall that Kiri ninja who had taken a shine to Obito? I can’t remember his name, but I do remember that Obito had liked the attention… I don’t think I have ever seen a person run away so fast, that too with his chakra being blocked! Kashi really wasn’t happy with that nin…

Fugaku: Remember it? We have the photos of the nin and his reactions in our ‘We had a bad day, we need laughs’ album. Obito’s look of disbelief over Kashi was very hilarious, and I can’t thank Tenzo enough that he had that camera with him. That boy truly takes some good photos.

Orochimaru: Oh? I had heard you had such an album, but didn’t realize that you had those photos. May I borrow it for a while? I would like to make copies of those photos…

Fugaku: Of course. I’ll have it sent to you tomorrow, or is it today? _[looks at the time]_ today it is.

Orochimaru: Thank you. Now, what’s this I hear about Itachi being removed from his team, and joining Obito’s team? What happened? Obito merely growled when I asked him about it.

Fugaku: Itachi had been going through the album for the last few days. It got me concerned, but I could only talk to him properly yesterday. He finally told me, but only after I threatened to bring in Hanabi and make her pout at him. You know how weak he is against babies.  

You see, his sensei had told them he was going to recommend them for the upcoming Chunin Examination, even though they only passed out three months ago. Itachi doesn’t want to be a Chunnin so soon, even though he knows he _can_ be one. He said as much to his sensei (if you can call him that!) who gave him a speech on honor and duty, before disregarding Itachi’s opinion. So, I had the sensei investigated. Turns out, the man had no clue as to what to do with a ten-year old ‘genius’, and simply wanted to get rid of him. Minato wasn’t happy when I bought this to his notice. Why that sensei thought he could get away with treating _my son,_ the Hokage’s godson, this way, I don’t know. The fact that he managed to forget that Itachi is also _Uchiha Mikoto_ ’s son and _Uzumaki Kushina’s_ godson, says a lot about why he is currently on a long-term mission in Ame.

Honestly, Minato gives _every_ prospective Jonin teacher a chance to voice their issues with any students they might have! The tentative student teams and their respective teachers are assigned a whole _month_ before the students graduate. That man could have told his opinion way before now, instead of trying to send three genin into an exam where they could easily die!

Leaving behind the fact Itachi is _my son,_ the team also had Inuzuka Hana, and Aburame Torune, both _very_ important and beloved members of their clans. Just, what was that man _thinking?_

_[Orochimaru quietly fills more sake into Fugaku’s glass. Sora notices the raising intent from Orochimaru and leaves the room. Fugaku drinks more sake, and lays his head on the table. Outside, the storm slowly disperses.]_

Orochimaru: _[hissing softly]_ What is his name?

Fugaku: _[raising his head]_ Nope. Not telling. You are going to have to find out from someone else, Oro, because I am not telling you. _[sighs]_ I am angry, don’t get me wrong, but mostly I am just tired. What with the paperwork from the civilians, and with the change in teams for Itachi, it’s been a long day. I just wish Itachi would have spoken to me sooner, instead of troubling himself for so long over _honor_! _[huffs]_ I am glad that child isn’t going to be the next clan head, I think the added pressure of being the Heir would have crumbled him.

Orochimaru: _[narrows his eyes]_ Fine. Don’t tell me, I’ll find out for myself… wait. Itachi isn’t the Heir? But he is your first born; doesn’t that mean he has to be the next Clan Head?

Fugaku: You do realise that the previous Head was my father-in-law, right? So, technically speaking, Mikoto was supposed to be the next Head, not me. But since she married me, and didn’t want the position, it came to me. But the position of the Head belongs to Mikoto’s side of the family, and after her, the position should go to Obito. He is her second cousin, and as such closest in terms of becoming the next Head. So, Obito is my Heir. Itachi will only be the Heir if Obito were to die childless.

Orochimaru: Well, I can ease your mind about that. Obito plans on having children as soon as his team becomes Chunin, and can survive without blowing themselves up every other day.

Fugaku: So, never then. Good to know.

_[They laugh and laugh. Sora peeps in, notices that the killing intent is gone, and goes back to tending his bar. The rain outside has stopped.]_

Orochimaru: About Itachi, why don’t you show him that photo of yours going down Manda’s back? Once he looks at that photo I guarantee that any fear of displeasing you will leave him forever! _[laughs]_

Fugaku: _[smiles]_ That’s actually a good idea. I know for a fact that Mikoto has a copy of it with her, even though she swore she had destroyed all copies. I’ll talk to her later and get her to ‘leave’ it somewhere Itachi can see… Hopefully it’ll help him understand that his happiness means more to me than _honor._ Really, where that boy is getting such ideas from, I truly do not know. _Honor!_

_[Orochimaru chuckles as Fugaku mutters about honor and ninjas. They drink some more, and finish the bottles on their table. They thank Sora as he replaces the empty bottles with full ones. Silence reigns as smiles and drinks are shared. The two men seem to be in no hurry to leave, and the curtain slowly falls, as Sora goes back to his bar and starts cleaning.]_

_The End._

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know my brain anymore. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Thank you.


End file.
